title:
The Negotiator
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studio:
Warner Studios
MPAA rating:
R
starring:
Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse, Ron Rifkin, J.T. Walsh
release year:
1998
film rating:
Two and One Half Stars
reviewed by:
Bill Warren
When two can-do-no-wrong actors like Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin
Spacey, both of whom specialize in complex, manipulative characters,
star together in something called 'The Negotiator,' it seems reasonable
to expect that we're going to see something with intricate plotting,
smart dialogue and some major plot surprises. What we get instead is a
decent but largely routine action thriller that is better than it
should be thanks to the efforts of the aforementioned leads and a
strong supporting cast.

title:
A Perfect Murder
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studio:
Warner Home Entertainment
MPAA rating:
R
starring:
Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen, David Suchet
release year:
1998
film rating:
Two and One-Half Stars
reviewed by:
Abbie Bernstein
As one character here points out, sexual jealousy and money are the two
biggest motives for murder. Odd, then, that 'A Perfect Murder' doesn't
generate more sense of lust or greed. It is diverting and reasonably
competent, give or take a few plot holes, but the film disappears from
memory minutes after it ends.

title:
Sharky's Machine
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studio:
Warner Bros. Home Video
MPAA rating:
R
starring:
Burt
Reynolds, Rachel Ward, Henry Silva, Brian Keith, Charles Durning,
Bernie Casey, Earl Holliman, Richard Libertini, Vittorio Gassman
release year:
1981
film rating:
Three stars
reviewed by:
Bill Warren
Probably Burt Reynolds' best movie as a director, "Sharky's Machine" is
a brisk, efficient latter-day film noir; the plot (from the novel by
William Diehl) is satisfactory if familiar, the characters are standard
but well-played by an excellent tough-guy cast that seems carefully
hand-picked. When it was first released, the movie was regarded as
excessively violent, even crudely brutal, but the excesses of the years
since have made this one seem almost tame, at least in terms of
excessive gore. But Reynolds handles the violence so vividly that it
still has considerable impact, even on video, even on this
unfortunately panned-and-scanned DVD.

title:
Palmetto
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studio:
Castle Rock
MPAA rating:
R
starring:
Woody Harrelson, Elisabeth Shue, Gina Gershon, Rolf Hoppe, Chloe Sevigny, Tom Wright, Michael Rapaport
release year:
film rating:
Two and One-Half Stars
reviewed by:
Bill Warren
It's not necessary to notice that 'Palmetto' is based on a James Hadley
Chase novel entitled "Just Another Sucker." All we need to do is watch
flawed hero Harry Barber (Woody Harrelson) in action for a minute or
two to guess which way the wind will blow. Despite this, the film
succeeds in orffering a couple of genuinely startling plot twists,
along with some good laughs. The problem here is that director Volker
Schlondorff and screenwriter E. Max Frye don't entirely have a handle
on how to maintain the bemused tone they occasionally succeed in
setting. Sometimes the tone becomes so dark that it curdles the
intended levity; in other sequences, would-be suspenseful action is
played so broadly that it becomes comical.